Right Place, Right Time
by Copper's Mama
Summary: Veronica/Lamb fic, takes place during "Silence of the Lamb". Instead of Kelly getting taken, the E-String Strangler goes after Veronica. Please read and review!


_..._

_A Lamb/Veronica fic. _

_..._

_Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Veronica Mars. I'm nowhere near that awesome. _

_..._

_A/N: Well, I've recently fallen back into the DoVe realm, so I thought I'd shoot this one out. This is number 4 on my new list of Veronica/Lamb fics to write. _

_It takes place during "Silence of the Lamb", but instead of the E-String Strangler taking that other girl, he takes Veronica on a whim. _

_I hope you guys like it, I know I'll love writing it. _

_As always, please read and review, I live for feedback! _

.....................................................................................................................................................................................

Veronica parked her car, grabbed her bag and locked the doors, sliding out of the open driver's side door of the LeBaron and closed it again behind her. She held open her purse while she deposited her keys inside, walking slowly across the street.

Leo had arranged for her to watch his band practice as a way of bypassing the fact that she couldn't - legally - get into a club to see them play.

It felt like a small trip down memory lane: going off to hang out with the deputy she had a crush on.

Veronica huffed at the memory, pushing it out of her mind as she crossed the street. As she walked along the sidewalk to the address Leo had given her, she heard a shuffling behind her ... almost like the sound of feet following her. She reached into her bag, gripping the taser gun she kept with her at all times, but before she even had a chance to take the safety off, she was tackled to the ground. Her hand was jolted out of her bag and the taser went flying up the sidewalk, too far out of her reach.

Veronica opened her mouth to call for help, but a rag was pressed over her face. In her panic she breathed in a gasp of heavy air, and realized too late that the rag was soaked in chloroform. Her struggles were futile, and the last conscious thought she had was that the E-String Strangler looked remarkably like a human pig.

.....................................................................................................................................................................................

Lamb sat behind his desk, in _his_ office, thinking over the E-String case. He didn't want to admit it, but he didn't think it was over either. He was waiting for background checks on the people that worked in that guitar store that he and Keith had visited. It was mostly out of spite, but maybe he'd get lucky and arrest that poser for unpaid parking tickets or something.

Keith had finally gone home after they'd discovered that the missing girl was actually at a friend's place, sleeping off a hangover.

Lamb was thrilled to be rid of him. It was bad enough that he had to listen to Veronica tell him how inadequate he was every time he arrested one of her friends or lost a bail jumper, but he _so_ didn't need Keith Mars, his mentor and - once upon a time - father figure hanging around to let everyone know just how much better he was at the job. Don Lamb hadn't asked to be nominated for Sheriff, but he'd been the most senior deputy under Keith, so he'd accepted the responsibility. After he'd found out he would be Sheriff, he had tried to go over to apologize to them, but a teary-eyed Veronica had called him a thief and slammed the door in his face. He couldn't take the loss of the only family that had ever treated him as such, so he'd given up, and slid into the role of the villain they so wanted label him as.

Lamb sighed, forcing the thoughts out of his mind. His eyes trailed out his office door, to the desk of his newest Deputy. _D'Amato_, he thought bitterly. He made a mental note to suspend him when he got in the next day, after his "date". The evidence locker had been left unlocked during his shift, and while he would normally only give a verbal reprimand, he changed his mind in this instance. He was spiteful that way.

Two hours later Leo D'Amato returned to the Sheriff's station. Lamb watched him curiously as he walked to his desk, a grin hidden in the corner's of his mouth. "Date end early?" Lamb asked.

Leo froze, unaware that Lamb had known anything about his plans for the evening. "Um, no ... it never started. My date never showed up."

Lamb wondered about the reason for Veronica standing him up, but didn't care to voice his curiosity.

"Hey, do we have a particular place where confiscated weapons go?" Leo asked him.

Lamb replied, "Yeah, there's a separate shelf in the evidence locker. Why?"

Leo held up a black taser. "I found this on my way back."

Lamb stared at it for a moment, the gears in his mind turning rapidly. _It couldn't be,_ he told himself. "Hang on, let me see that."

Leo complied, making sure the safety was on before tossing it to the Sheriff.

Lamb turned it over in his hands once before flipping it upside down to get a look at the bottom. "Dammit."

Leo looked back up at him. "What?"

Lamb grabbed his keys and told Sacks to call Keith back into the station. "I need you to show me exactly where you found this," he said to the young deputy.

"Okay," Leo replied, growing more confused by the second as they moved out the door. "Why? Do you know whose it is?"

Lamb nodded, heading for his car. "It's Veronica's."

Leo paused, but then ran to catch up to Lamb's long strides. "How do you know?"

Lamb slid into his seat, slamming the door and shoving the keys into the ignition as Leo sat in the passenger's seat. "Because, I gave it to her."

~ _It was Veronica's fifteenth birthday, and the Mars family was throwing her a special dinner after the party she'd had with her friends. Keith had invited Lamb as well, letting him know once again that he was always welcome in their family. _

_Keith and Leanne had already given Veronica their presents, and she was now unwrapping his. _

_Veronica grinned up at him, eagerly tearing through the wrapping paper. The tossed it aside once she found the box underneath, eyeing the shape and size. After contemplating what it might be, Veronica opened the box at last, staring down at the shiny object. _

_"Oh, Don!" Leanne lamented. "What that really necessary?" _

_Keith smiled. "Oh, come on Sweetie. Now we don't have to worry about any of the boys at school getting fresh with her." _

_"Fresh? Move with the times, dear," Leanne commented to her husband, kissing his cheek. _

_Veronica ignored them both, taking the electric weapon out of its casing to admire it. When she drew her eyes to the bottom she noticed there was something engraved on it. _

_"'V.M'," she read aloud. "For Veronica Mars?" she asked him. _

_Lamb nodded, hoping she liked the gift. He didn't really know what fifteen-year old girls liked, so he'd gone with what he thought she should have. "Do you like it?" he wondered. _

_Veronica smiled widely, putting it back in the box. She stood from her spot on the couch to wrap her arms around him in a friendly embrace. "I love it! Thank you." _

_Lamb hugged her back a little, wishing - not for the first time - that he were fifteen, instead of twenty-four. ~ _

.....................................................................................................................................................................................

Lamb and Leo arrived outside his practice area, stepping out of the car. Lamb flicked on his flashlight, scouring the street. "Where was it?" he asked Leo.

Leo jogged up the sidewalk, finding the general area. "Right here, I think."

"You think?" Lamb questioned, annoyed.

Leo nodded. "I know. It was here, this is where I found it."

Lamb turned his flashlight up and down the street, looking for any clue as to what had happened. Keith would be arriving at the station soon - if Sacks had gotten a hold of him - and he did not want to go back empty-handed. After finding nothing he dug around on his belt, finally pulling his phone out of its confines.

"Who are you calling?" Leo asked.

Lamb found her number on his contacts and pressed send, knowing it was a long shot. "I'm calling her cell."

Leo opened his mouth to ask another question, but Lamb waved him off.

After the second ring he thought he heard something coming from the alley. He walked towards it, noticing that it got a little bit louder, but the sound cut off as soon as her voicemail cut in. Lamb ended the call and dialed again, waiting for the first ring. He could definitely tell that the ringing was coming from the alley, but he didn't know where. _Please don't tell me that he dumped her body already,_ Lamb thought in a near-prayer. He and Leo walked towards the sound of the ringing, and after Lamb dialed a third time he discovered it was coming from inside the dumpster.

He shut his phone and replaced it in his belt. "Okay, go get it."

Leo looked at him for a moment.

"That wasn't a request," Lamb told him, and the younger deputy flipped the lid of the dumpster up and began searching.

He didn't have to look long; the bag was pretty close to the top. "I think this is it," he said, pulling the bag out of the trash. There was a rag sticking out of the back pocket of the bag, and Lamb snatched it out. After a second he brought it to his nose, sniffing a little. "Dammit," he said again, pulling the rag away.

"What?" Leo asked.

"Chloroform," Lamb informed him. "Dammit."

"Does that mean he's got her?" Leo asked, worried about the girl.

"Sure as hell looks like it." Lamb took the bag away from him, taking a quick look around the alley to make sure there was no more evidence before he made his way back to the car.

.....................................................................................................................................................................................

"How could this happen?" Keith ranted, storming around the Sheriff's station. "Veronica knows better than to walk around alone at night!"

Leo hung his head. "She was supposed to be meeting me, sir," he confessed. "She was coming to watch my band practice."

Keith glared at him. "How old are you?"

"Twenty," Leo answered.

"You got a car, deputy D'Amato?" Keith asked.

Leo nodded.

"Then why the hell could you not have picked her up and drove her there your damn self?" Keith demanded to know.

Leo retreated back a few steps. "Sir, I'm so sorry ... I didn't know. I thought it was over with, I mean ... we all thought we caught the guy."

"Well clearly you were wrong."

Lamb stepped in, prepared to put an end to his tirade when Sacks interrupted. "Sir, we just got a report from the unit outside Sciaraffa's apartment, he's there, and according to them, he was carrying a large duffle ... as in big enough to -"

"Yeah, we get it, Sacks," Lamb interrupted.

"I also got this pulled up for you," Sacks added, handing Lamb the sheets with the background checks on it.

Keith pulled out his gun, checking the clip and replacing it once more. "Okay, are we going or not?"

Lamb glanced back at him. "We already tore that place apart, Keith. There's nowhere to hide a body ... or keep a body," he added, not wanting it to seem like he thought Veronica was dead.

"Then we bring him in and make him tell us where he took her," Keith ordered, growing more impatient with every second that passed.

"Would you just wait and -" Lamb didn't get to finish, for Keith strode over to him and got in his face, glaring up at him. "I am not waiting a second later, Don. That is my daughter. Maybe you don't know what that's like, but I am _not_ going to let her become another victim that just washes up on the beach. Is that clear?"

Lamb gritted his teeth before responding. "Fine. Take Sacks and a couple other guys. I got something I gotta check out," he told him.

Keith glared at him. "You're not coming?"

Lamb rolled his eyes. "Well, I wouldn't wanna give you a chance to shoot me and call it an accident, would I?"

Keith shook his head before he left with a handful of deputies.

Leo walked over to Lamb. "Is there a reason you're not going with them, sir?"

Lamb glanced over at him. "Aside from the fact that she's not there? Not really your business," he told him. "As of right now you're on suspension."

Leo looked reasonably surprised. "Because Veronica got abducted?"

Lamb shook his head. "No, because the evidence locker was left unlocked during your shift. Anyone could have come in and taken something, and I have serious doubts about your ability to do anything about it. I'll give you a call if I decided you're ready to come back." Lamb dismissed him, looking over the sheets Sacks had given him. When he got to the third sheet he paused his pacing.

An expletive passed his lips in a whisper and he tossed the papers on his desk, jogging out to his car. It was only a hunch still ... but if he was right, then Keith was going the wrong way. He reached for his cell once he got in his seat, his fingers poised to dial the number but he stopped. Keith wouldn't listen to him with the little proof that he had, and if he was wrong, there was a very good possibility that the former Sheriff would take it out of Lamb's hide. But if he was right, and he got Veronica back on his own ... _That's pretty much an endless supply of brownie points right there,_ he considered. He didn't expect it to completely change how things were between him and that family, and he didn't even know if he wanted back in ... but it might be worth it to find out. Plus, he could prove to the mini-Mars that he did - in fact - know how to do his job.

With a final sigh, he replaced the phone on his belt, pulling out of the parking lot and heading for the guitar store.

.....................................................................................................................................................................................

Veronica woke up slowly, feeling extremely groggy. Her head throbbed, and her body felt extremely cramped. She tried to get up, but found that there was nowhere to move to. Where she was, it was a confined space.

Flashes ran through her mind, and she suddenly remembered what had happened. "Oh, god!" she whispered, a stray tears leaking out of her eye. She moved as much as she could, trying to break out of whatever container she was in, but it barely budged - if it moved at all. "Okay, keep it together, Veronica. You know the score here. Panicking won't do any good," she reminded herself. "The other girls were asphyxiated ... probably in whatever container you're in. You're using more oxygen now that you're conscious, so stay calm and use shallow breathing. Dad's looking for you, and he can find anyone." She paused after a moment. "Quit talking, Veronica, you're using up precious air."

She shut her mouth, breathing slowly and carefully through her nose. _Please, Dad, find me fast,_ she chanted internally.

.....................................................................................................................................................................................

_End of chapter one. _

_This will probably only be a few chapters long. _

_So, what did you guys think? _

_Reviews are appreciated, flame if you must, but constructive criticism is much more useful. _

_Until next time ...! _


End file.
